Swine flu toll climbs to six in Odisha

12 August 2017

The swine flu toll in Odisha today rose to six with two persons succumbing to the disease in the state. Two doctors have also tested positive for the H1N1 virus prompting the authorities to start a vaccination drive in government-run hospitals.

The death reported on Friday was, however, not verified by the office of the chief medical officer where officials said they had yet to receive the information.There have been four deaths due to swine flu since May this year, with three being in the month of August itself. "Earlier, only the private hospitals had been sending their samples to GSVM", he added.Meanwhile, a suspected patient of swine flu was admitted to Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) on late Thursday evening. Swab samples of a doctor working at the Orthopaedic department in Capital Hospital and a junior doctor of SCB, Cuttack, were found positive for the vector-borne disease. "Doctors, nurse, attendants and other staff will be given the vaccine first; later, we will try to give it to all", said Capital Hospital director Chitaranjan Das. The isolation ward in the eye department building was meant for treatment of dengue patients but considering the rise in number of H1N1 patients, SCBMCH authorities converted it to treat swine flu patients and shifted the dengue ward to trauma care building. Ventilators and isolated beds have been arranged in all medical colleges, Capital Hospital and district headquarters hospitals. There is no dearth of medicines and vaccines for swine flu in Delhi.